In the beginning of the Fourth Book, Adimantus asks Socrates if the people will be "happy". Socrates answers that the purpose is Justice alone, with happiness of the whole being the result. He uses the analogy of a piece of art- Would you paint the eyes of a statue purple, just because it is a beautiful color? No, because that would not be REALISTIC and would take away from the effect of the statue.
Socrates argues that in a city where everyone is raised in the ideal circumstances, doing what they were ideally made for, there will be perfect justice-because happiness leads to justice.
I think his argument is pointless because there is no one Just except God. In the beginning, we were created in an ideal environment, with everything humanity needed, with a single purpose, but that was clearly messed up. So even if everyone were happy-would they stay happy? Would no one ever make a mistake and become curious about other things in the city, other options? I think the fact that this city is completely theoretical just points to the fact that Socrates is going about this discussion in the wrong way. We cannot measure Justice according to earthly standards.
I also think about the Eternal City where we will all worship around the throne of God one day....We will each be doing what we were created to do, have all that we will need, and it will be perfect.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe I'm still missing the point of Plato's questions?